Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 138[a]
By David.
138 I will give you thanks with all my heart;
before the heavenly assembly[b] I will sing praises to you.
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple,
and give thanks to your name,
because of your loyal love and faithfulness,
for you have exalted your promise above the entire sky.[c]
3 When[d] I cried out for help, you answered me.
You made me bold and energized me.[e]
4 Let all the kings of the earth give thanks[f] to you, O Lord,
when they hear the words you speak.[g]
5 Let them sing about the Lord’s deeds,[h]
for the Lord’s splendor is magnificent.[i]
6 Though the Lord is exalted, he looks after the lowly,
and from far away humbles[j] the proud.
7 Even when I must walk in the midst of danger,[k] you revive me.
You oppose my angry enemies,[l]
and your right hand delivers me.
8 The Lord avenges me.[m]
O Lord, your loyal love endures.
Do not abandon those whom you have made.[n]
Leadership Change
12 [a] Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain of the Abarim range,[b] and see[c] the land I have given[d] to the Israelites. 13 When you have seen it, you will be gathered[e] to your ancestors,[f] as Aaron your brother was gathered to his ancestors.[g] 14 For[h] in the wilderness of Zin when the community rebelled against me, you[i] rebelled against my command[j] to show me as holy[k] before their eyes over the water—the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.”
15 Then Moses spoke to the Lord: 16 “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all humankind,[l] appoint[m] a man over the community, 17 who will go out before them, and who will come in before them,[n] and who will lead them out, and who will bring them in, so that[o] the community of the Lord may not be like sheep that have no shepherd.”
18 The Lord replied[p] to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit,[q] and lay your hand on him;[r] 19 set him[s] before Eleazar the priest and before the whole community, and commission[t] him publicly.[u] 20 Then you must delegate[v] some of your authority[w] to him, so that the whole community of the Israelites will be obedient.[x] 21 And he will stand before Eleazar the priest, who[y] will seek counsel[z] for him before the Lord by the decision of the Urim.[aa] At his command[ab] they will go out, and at his command they will come in, he and all the Israelites with him, the whole community.”
22 So Moses did as the Lord commanded him; he took Joshua and set[ac] him before Eleazar the priest and before the whole community. 23 He laid his hands on him and commissioned him, just as the Lord commanded,[ad] by the authority[ae] of Moses.
Saul Returns to Jerusalem
26 When he arrived in Jerusalem, he attempted to associate[a] with the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, because they did not believe[b] that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took[c] Saul,[d] brought[e] him to the apostles, and related to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, that[f] the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly[g] in the name of Jesus. 28 So he was staying with them, associating openly with them[h] in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He was speaking and debating[i] with the Greek-speaking Jews,[j] but they were trying to kill him. 30 When the brothers found out about this, they brought him down to Caesarea[k] and sent him away to Tarsus.
31 Then[l] the church throughout Judea, Galilee,[m] and Samaria experienced[n] peace and thus was strengthened.[o] Living[p] in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, the church[q] increased in numbers.
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